Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

October 6, 2012

UP: To the schools, students and parents who participated in the past Wednesday's Walk to School Day. The annual national event is held to encourage parents and children to be more active.

UP: To Marietta resident Dennis Morris who was part of a group in a study/competition on why some people live longer than others. Morris, who is 106, provided a DNA sample for the study, which will take place in 2013.

UP: To Belpre Elementary School teacher Robin Walker and the students who join her every Friday for a two-mile bicycle ride. Walker and the students - whose numbers have grown so the school had to add another bicycle rack - begin at Belpre High School for the ride to the elementary school. The ride is made no matter the weather. Walker, who lives in southern Wood County, said she began the Bicycle Club to encourage fitness and to teach the students bicycle safety.

UP: To the volunteers from West Virginia University at Parkersburg and the Wood County Tree Commission who recently spent some of their time to prune 20 trees along the Little Kanawha Connector bike trail behind the Bureau of Public Debt.

UP: To the Little Kanawha Resource Conservation and Development Council which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of helping the Mid-Ohio Valley. The RC&D program was established Sept. 27, 1962, by President John F. Kennedy to help conserve natural resources and to enhance the social and economic well-being of rural counties. The Little Kanawha council, authorized for funding in October 1966, originally included Calhoun, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt and Wood counties. In 1974, Tyler County was added. The council has been invaluable and has helped several worthwhile projects in the area throughout its history.

DOWN: To Parkersburg City Council President Tom Joyce who said no action will be taken on District 8 city council candidate Jim Knapp's request for an inquiry into his opponent, Councilman John Rockhold's residency. Rockhold is married to a woman who lives in Pleasants County and spends part of this time in Pleasants County. It is probably true that, as Joyce said, there is no evidence to show Rockhold does not live in Parkersburg; we think an inquiry should have been made. While Knapp is a candidate for Rockhold's seat, he also is a citizen of Parkersburg who is asking council to look into something he feels is a problem. At the very least, Joyce could have given this complaint a cursory look before dismissing it.